A Father's Guilt
by KaibaGirl17
Summary: Stoick is riddled with guilt by the hurtful things that he's done and said to Hiccup over the years. Set one week after the battle against the Red Death.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hi! Okay, Look guys, first off, I really am sorry that I haven't been able to update for a while now. I really wanted to update yesterday but I've been really busy with school, stupid drama with some of my classmates, my awesome friends, family, and my adorable black Labrador puppy, Yohan (who might I say is like Toothless in dog form, I even call him Bud ^_^). Second, I'm hoping the somewhat long first Chapter of this brand new Fanfic will make up for my long absence. This here is my fourth HTTYD fanfic, and I hope you guys like it as much as you did the others. And no flames or I'll send Toothless after you! First I just have to borrow him from Hiccup…Oh forget it, I'll just send Yohan after flamers...I kid, I kid. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the story and some nice reviews would be greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD or any of the characters, DreamWorks and Cressida Cowell do.

...

The sound of rain softly drumming on the roof of the Haddock house gently pulled Hiccup closer to consciousness and further away from his fever-fogged slumber. Though he had slept for an entire week, the seventeen-year-old boy still felt weary, not at all refreshed. Desperate to return to sleep, Hiccup stirred under his cocoon of warm blankets. Dull pain ached through his sore head. The young Viking could feel his father's massive hand stroking his hair. But Hiccup didn't push the hand away, partially because he was too tired and weak and sick to do so, but also because he secretly craved this rare, gentle touch from Stoick. And though he was afraid to admit it, Hiccup missed his father. Even if the man had disowned him. He had apologized for it though.

But a then pang of doubt struck Hiccup. What if Stoick changed his mind again and was now angry with his son again? What if he was angry with Hiccup?

"Hiccup," he heard Stoick say.

"Daaaaaaaad..." he murmured, and before he could stop himself he slowly drifted off to sleep.

"I'm here, Hiccup," his father whispered.

"I'm...s-sorry..." Hiccup continued, wishing he could keep quiet.

'Oh no, I've done it now,' Hiccup scolded himself inwardly. 'Now he's gonna be even madder at me than before.'

Stoick sighed.

"Hiccup," he tried again. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for."

Hiccup closed his eyes tighter. There was no doubt in the dragon trainer's mind that the man he had once called his father was angry.

Without even realizing it, Hiccup began shake softly as he tried to quell his fear. He didn't know what he'd done to make his father angry with him, but then this was no different from every day of the past ten years.

He saw his furry vest flung over a chair in the far corner of the room. Yes, he was in his house, in his bedroom upstairs...But if his father was mad at him, why would he be there?

A throbbing pain began pulsating through Hiccup's head. The seventeen-year-old was groggy and he wanted to sleep. He didn't want to think, he just wanted to sleep.

...

Stoick tried to continue stroking his son's hair, but Toothless, Hiccup's Night Fury, the dragon who had saved the boy's life, growled at him.

Toothless glared daggers at the older Viking until Hiccup let out an unconscious moan of pain.

Both father and dragon turned to see what was wrong.

Hiccup was resting uneasily in his bed. His limp body was sprawled across the bed; his head was lying on his left shoulder. The grimace on the teenage boy's face was a telltale sign that the position was anything but comfortable for him.

Toothless crooned worriedly as he made his way over to Hiccup's bed. He then wrapped his wings around Hiccup's small frame. Two days had passed since the battle against the Red Death and Hiccup still hadn't woken up. Well, technically he had, but it was clear that he was still out of it and so his protective Night Fury refused to leave him, even for just one moment. And it was already clear that the dragon was in no way ready to let Stoick anywhere near Hiccup. Not after the chieftain had hurt Hiccup so badly. Granted, he let Stoick near Hiccup whenever he needed to clean Hiccup's leg to keep the injuries from becoming infected, after which he would bandage the leg. But that was about it.

Stoick watched as Toothless secured his son in those scaly, black wings. He then saw the dragon look over in his direction before quickly turning away. But he had caught a glimpse of the intense anger and borderline hatred in the acid-green eyes of his son's best friend. The Viking chieftain knew the Night Fury had every right to be angry with him. After all, if he had just listened to Hiccup's warnings, this never would have happened.

Hiccup stirred and moaned in his sleep. A moment later, Toothless and Stoick could both hear a strange gurgling sound coming from Hiccup's stomach.

"Hiccup?" Stoick didn't even try to disguise the worry in his voice.

Toothless growled warningly as Stoick's hand came closer to Hiccup.

"Toothless, let me help him," Stoick nearly begged.

Toothless growled and still shook his head.

The black dragon growled again and shook his head.

'_Not a chance!_' his angry expression seemed to say. '_All these years, you put poor Hiccup through hell and now you expect me to just pretend everything's okay? Well it's not! And I'm not gonna let you hurt him again!_'

Stoick sighed. Even though the dragon had not uttered even one of those words, he might as well have. His harsh and unforgiving gaze said it all.

So, the father of Hiccup made his way to the other side of the room to wait for his chance to help his son in any way that he could.

...

Hiccup lay in his bed, sleeping peacefully despite the pain that he was most likely in. Maybe he could sense the presence of his beloved dragon. Toothless was lying next to Hiccup's bed, his black, scaly head next to Hiccup's, crooning softly as he nuzzled the sleeping boy's cheek.

As Stoick watched his son and the boy's dragon, he relaxed slightly. Hiccup seemed to be doing a little better, but only a very, very little. The boy still seemed to be pretty sick. After all, he still hadn't woken up yet, even though two full days had gone by.

Hiccup's face was still flushed and his whole body was covered with a thin layer of sweat.

"I did everything you told me to do," Stoick explained as Gothi examined Hiccup. "For the past two days, I've kept his leg clean…but he still won't wake up."

Gothi frowned as she continued to assess Hiccup.

"What's wrong with him?" Stoick asked the old healer nervously.

Gothi took up her walking stick and began to create what looked like a picture.

Stoick looked to Gobber. The blacksmith Viking was one of the few people in the village who could read Gothi's writing.

Gobber narrowed his eyes as he looked down at the picturesque writing.

Unlike previous writings from the elderly woman, Stoick did not recognize any part of the scrawls that made up this particular writing.

"What did she say, Gobber? The chief asked.

"She says Hiccup's not doing much better," the blond Viking answered.

Stoick felt his heart begin to sink. He had thought that Hiccup was getting better. Or had he not been paying attention again? The red-haired chief knew that this had not been the first time that he hadn't paid attention to a matter involving his son.

'_What kind of father am I?_' he scolded himself. '_When am I ever going to learn_?'

Gothi frowned again and began to create another picture. Just like the first one, this one was completely unrecognizable to Stoick.

Stoick looked to Gobber again.

"She says if he's tended carefully, then he should he fine in a few days," Gobber interpreted.

"Thank the gods," Stoick sighed in relief. Maybe things would finally start getting better.

Or so Stoick thought...

...

That night, Stoick managed to convince Toothless to let him clean and bandage Hiccup's wounds before leaving the boy to his rest and the protection of the dragon.

For some reason though, he had this odd sense of foreboding…Almost like something bad was going to happen to Hiccup. But that was impossible; he was there and he was determined to keep anything or anyone from hurting his son. And the boy was tucked safely in his bed, being guarded by Toothless. So even if someone or something somehow managed to slip past Stoick, they would have to go through Toothless as well.

So, Stoick shrugged the feeling off and headed to his own room.

...

Less than an hour had gone by when a loud, bloodcurdling scream echoed through the house.

"Hiccup!" Stoick cried out.

What was happening? Was someone or something actually daring to attack his son?

Not willing to leave anything to chance, Stoick grabbed his hammer and hurried to his son's room.

...

Toothless whined and licked Hiccup's cheek a few times in a desperate attempt to ease the teenage human's pain.

"Make it stop!" Hiccup wailed, clutching his left leg. "Please! Make it stop!"

"Hiccup!"

The seventeen-year-old Viking jumped when he heard his father's voice thundering from the hallway outside of his room.

"Oh...Oh Thor..." Hiccup whimpered and hugged Toothless. "He's mad at me, Bud...I just know he is."

Toothless nudged his rider tenderly. He hated seeing Hiccup scared or in pain. But both at the same time was even worse as far as the dragon was concerned.

...

...

So, how was it? Let me know, guys.

Review =)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, here's Chapter 2. Thanks to Jewlbunny, Egyptprncssxox, demonsLOver, Simply Cool, Ninjapanda1313, Black Lightning24,Taranodongirl1, LyricalMedley, EgaoCheryl, Crush-Chan17, Kira the cat, Liz, and Honey Bee11 for all the reviews on Chapter 1. Hope you guys like this new Chapter.

Also, as I may or may not have said before, I believe in giving credit where credit is due so I would like to Jewlbunny, Egyptprncssxox, Lenle.G, and Taranodongirl1 for their help on this new Chapter.

Disclaimer: Though I own a copy of How To Train Your Dragon purchased from Wal-Mart, and a puppy who's a dog version of Toothless, sadly I don't own HTTYD or any of the characters, Cressida Cowell owns the book series, DreamWorks owns the movie and the rights to the movie, and they along with Cartoon Network own the Riders of Berk series. We good now? Yes? Okay, good.

...

Gothi frowned as she placed her tiny, wrinkly hand on Hiccup's forehead, only to pull it back mere seconds later. Hiccup moaned in his sleep as his face flushed more and more and began to groan as he tried to apply pressure to his leg.

"How bad is he doing now?" Stoick asked, worry creeping into his voice.

Gothi had pulled Hiccup's blankets aside and was now undoing the bandages wrapped around Hiccup's left leg in order to examine the limb. She then took up her walking stick and began to create the runes that only Gobber could read.

"What did she say?" Stoick asked his old friend.

Gobber's eyes widened slightly as he read over the writing. Gothi wasn't serious... it couldn't be...anything but...

"Um…she…she says that he's just going through a slight fever and he'll be fine," Gobber stammered quickly and nervously.

Gothi glared at the blond Viking and smacked him with her walking stick.

"I know you're not telling me everything Gobber," Stoick sighed impatiently.

Suddenly, Hiccup let out a groan and stirred in his sleep.

Stoick felt his chest tighten. Never had he heard Hiccup make such a miserable sound. Never.

When he heard the sound of complete and absolute misery and pain coming from Hiccup, Gobber could no longer stay silent about the rest of what Gothi had 'said' concerning Hiccup's condition.

"What did she say?" Stoick asked again.

"She says Hiccup has a high fever and an infection in his leg," Gobber admitted.

Stoick sighed dolefully and shook his head.

Gothi glared at Gobber and raised her walking stick again.

"She also says he has blood poisoning, Stoick," Gobber added hastily.

Stoick's eyes widened.

"Gobber, did you just say what I think you said?" the chief demanded.

"If you think I said blood poisoning, then yes," Gobber answered sadly.

Stoick turned to his son, who was now curled up into a ball. How could this have happened? Stoick had taken every precaution to make sure that Hiccup didn't get that sick. And yet, he had failed.

"Y-you mean I have...blood poisoning?"

Stoick, Gobber, and Gothi all looked down to see that Hiccup was now awake, his tired green eyes filled with alarm.

Stoick sighed.

"Yes...I'm afraid so, son," he answered.

Hiccup stared up at his father, a look of pure shock on his face.

"You gave me blood poisoning?!" the seventeen-year-old Viking screeched. "Are you that desperate to get rid of me?!"

Startled by his son's vehemence, Stoick took step back.

"I don't want to get rid of you!" the chieftain of the Hairy Hooligans insisted.

Sitting up with great effort and shaking his head sadly, Hiccup mumbled something under his breath.

"Hiccup, why would I ever want to kill you?" Stoick questioned, clasping his hands with his own.

Hiccup tugged his hands free and covered his face in an attempt to hide the tears that were beginning to fall from his eyes.

"You really hate me that much, huh?" he repeated his words. "Wouldn't that be reason enough for you? Besides, you already killed my best friend, so I guess you don't really care."

"Hiccup..." Stoick began.

"Why don't you just take your hammer and do it now?" Hiccup interrupted. "At least show me some mercy instead of letting me slowly die from the blood poisoning."

Stoick didn't know what to say.

Gothi pushed gently on Hiccup's chest, causing the young boy to lie back down. Toothless crooned and nuzzled Hiccup's cheek as the dragon trainer's eyes slowly closed as he fought to keep them open.

Gothi then placed a cool, wet rag on Hiccup's burning and dry forehead, hoping to alleviate the boy's fever.

...

After Gobber and Gothi had left, Stoick had taken up vigil at Hiccup's bedside. Toothless was watching the man warily, just to make sure that he didn't try to do anything to hurt Hiccup.

Hiccup lay in his bed, exhausted but afraid to close his eyes. His father was angry at him, he just knew it.

"Hiccup, you need to rest," Stoick sighed.

The frightened teenager sniffled and shook his head.

"Hiccup, please," Stoick tried a second time.

Hiccup sighed in defeat, turned away from Stoick, and closed his eyes. Within moments, he had drifted into a sluggish, uneasy sleep.

Stoick could tell by the softness and steadiness of Hiccup's breathing that his boy was sleeping.

Steeling himself, Stoick took a deep breath and prepared for the worst as he undid the bandages around Hiccup's left leg.

Stoick gasped when he saw the physical extent of Hiccup's injury. The entire leg from the mid-shin down had swelled up with pus, and tight, shiny, inflamed skin stretched across the limb. Angry, blood red streaks made their way up the leg. He was no healer, but nearly everyone on Berk could tell the signs of blood poisoning.

Hiccup slowly let loose a soft, tired moan as his entire scrawny frame writhed.

Stoick gasped and rewrapped his son's leg.

A moment later, the worried chieftain took his teenage son in his arms.

Hiccup's eyes slowly opened and met those of his father.

Hiccup squirmed weakly and groaned in his restless sleep.

"No…" he whimpered. "Don't…"

"Hiccup, it's alright," Stoick whispered in his ear. "You're safe now."

"No…" Hiccup murmured as he stared ahead blindly. His entire body was shaking and it felt like his body temperature was slowly falling.

Worried, Stoick pressed his head to his son's chest, hoping that listening to his child's heartbeat would quell his fear. Hiccup's heart was hammering against his chest and for a moment, Stoick feared his son's heart would burst.

Without even thinking about it, Stoick wrapped his arms around his son's small, trembling frame and held him tightly.

Hiccup squirmed again and whimpered softly. Fearing he'd hurt his son, Stoick released his hold on Hiccup.

Afraid, exhausted, and in pain, Hiccup carefully lay back down on his bed and curled up into a ball.

Stoick stroked his son's hair with a tenderness that surprised even him. He then proceeded to cover his child's small body with several warm fur blankets.

Hiccup tensed up as he felt his father beginning to stroke his hair. But soon, the surprising tenderness and the furs he felt himself being wrapped in, proved to be too much for Hiccup.

"Dad..." Hiccup whispered as he fought to stay awake.

"Yes, Hiccup?" Stoick leaned in closer so as to hear his son better without the boy having to strain.

"Th...Thirsty..." Hiccup rasped as he felt his throat growing dry.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps as his father went to get him some water.

...

After giving his son a drink of water, Stoick took his boy into his arms, taking care to watch his injured leg.

Toothless stood on the opposite side of Hiccup's bed, watching his rider worriedly. He hoped his rider would be better soon.

...

...

So, how was it? Let me know, guys.

Review =)


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